Eyes of a Stranger
by Dante Androsso
Summary: When someone catches your curiosity, how far will you go to get your answers?  Just a bunch of drabbles put together as they come, no real order or timeline.  Gonna be complete for now unless the muse to continue strikes.
1. Chapter 1

He would never be hers; she understood that now. Pale green eyes watched as her first love walked with another, someone she'd have never thought to see him with. Oddly enough, they clicked well. A small, bittersweet smile crossed her lips. It hurt to realize this. Lord, did it hurt, but, as she always had, she kept going. It was all she could do now, move on. She was happy for him, sure, but she still wished it was her, even now. She would always love him, that raven. She'd love them both, but it would never be the way she wanted. They'd already decided and that was good enough for her.

Sasuke would forever be untouchable, just as he had been before. And she would have to move on.

Walking away from the raven and his partner, she kept her tears inside. It wouldn't do now to cry, even though they'd be tears of joy and not pain. Looking to the sky, dark clouds were rolling in, a sign of rain. She simply smiled. She was at peace with everything and that's just how it should be.

And then the rain fell. She let it soak her, her face upturned to the sky, washing away all those negative feelings she harbored deep down. After a minute, she looked away from the sky, her face turned away, a smile on her face as she danced in the rain, walking back to where she lived.

"Are you some sort of moron?"

She paused for a moment. That pompous voice sounded familiar. Turning, she saw a pair of grey-lavender eyes staring intensely at her.

"Why would you want to know? I thought most people were below you."

He glowered at her, turning his face away in arrogance, "It's destined for morons to die early."

Giving him a rather good w.t.f. expression, she asked in return, "So?" He looked at her, wondering why she answered as such, but never said a word of it. Shaking her head, she added, eyes dead on level with his, "I'm not afraid." Even though lightning began to flash at a distance and thunder made it's presence known soon after, the pink haired girl kept going, dancing a little as she went.

And she left him confused. Who in their right mind wouldn't fear destiny? He couldn't understand it. And he wanted to know more.

If only his pride would let him.


	2. Chapter 2

He was watching her again. How many times did this make? It had gotten to the point where after so long, Sakura lost count. It made her uncomfortable, but, oddly enough, at the same time, it made her feel wanted by someone. It certainly was a feeling she longed for from a certain someone else. She still struggled to move on. Turning towards the origins of the burning gaze that gave her chills, she actually caught the brunette male staring at her. If this were a normal occasion, this would have never happened. Her brow wrinkled in confusion. It had been weeks since the rain incident, and it confused her to no end why he was always nearby her any more. It almost piqued her curiosity. But this was Neji Hyuuga she was thinking about, asshole extraordinaire. She didn't understand why someone like him would ever turn a glance at her never mind being stuck in a full blown stare.

Quickly, she turned around to open her locker when something fluttered out onto the floor. Curiosity got the better of her as she did not remember putting such an item in her locker where it could fall so easily in the first place. Stooping down, she picked up the plain looking paper. Reading it once, it turned out to be an invite to chat. "Nothing more; nothing less" it read. It certainly seemed the style of writing the man in question would write: short and to the point if a little blunt. She would have to think about whether or not she would meet him.

Despite resolving to put her decision off until her lunch hour, it haunted her. What exactly did he want to talk about in the first place? It wasn't as though they had a lot in common, as far as the pink haired girl could see. Was it because she told him she wasn't afraid to die, even if it was a moron's death. It wasn't as if he had any right to be concerned about what happened to her.

Mentally slapping herself, she realized she was obsessing over the whole situation. It had taken her concentration away completely and she wished she knew why. It wasn't as if she liked him.

Was it?

Waiting at the designated spot at the correct time, she looked for anyone who approached her with any sort of knowledge of the note she was given. The male in question saw her there, but couldn't bring himself to go over to her. Not yet anyways. It was a bad idea, he thought to himself, sending her that note. How would he speak to her? How would he ask her things which he longed to know? Though the most important question that rang through his mind was how had she gotten so far into his thoughts that she was driving him crazy? He knew in his logic and sensibility that he shouldn't care for her the way his heart was telling him. It was the most random thing he had ever encountered. It mocked him, infuriated him, but despite all that, it made him feel powerless, which added to the negative feelings he had already felt from the fiasco that was his crush on Sakura Haruno. At least, he thought it was a crush. A mere curiosity and that was all it was.

He told himself not to be such a loser and walked over to her just as she decided that he really wasn't going to show up and leaving.

"Now where do you think you're going?" he asked, his tone just as icy as ever.

"Home, though, now that you're actually here, I assume you want to speak?" Her pale green eyes narrowed at him, clearly not liking being jerked around as such. "What was that note about?" She wouldn't tell him she knew it was him, even if he tried to deny it.

"Aren't we now?" he asked, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"If you're going to be a jerk about it, I might as well go home." Turning to leave, she made a mental note to toss the paper she had in her possession. It was all just her imagination most likely brought on by a crushing sense of rejection that still lingered from that far away date.

"How can you not fear your destiny?"

He had to ask it. It was the most, well, third most, thought he had been obsessing about since their encounter.

"Even though it's inevitable, it doesn't mean it has to be scary." She turned back to him to explain more. "Generally, you would never know how your life will go," she smiled faintly, "and even though it has its ups and downs, it doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed." Sakura shrugged some. "And Naruto might be right when he said that you choose your own destiny."

He remained silent as she spoke to him, not a trace of hostility in her voice. "Hm" was the only thing he could think of saying. It baffled him, who was so used to destiny being something so immovably set in stone that he felt that he would be crushed by it, to think it was as fluid as a stream. To say it scared him a little would damage his pride immensely. He was Neji Hyuuga; he was afraid of none. And yet, her diligent words had a profound effect upon him.

"Was that all?" she asked, not understanding what was going on at all.

"For now," he replied, adding with a small pause, "I would like to do this again at a different time, however; if your schedule allows for it."

Did he just ask her out on a date? Well, it wouldn't technically be considered a date. "I think I can manage something," she replied. "Same time, same place?"

He only nodded before he walked away without further word. She was dangerous to his heart; he could feel it already. If only she knew what sort of power she wielded over him.


	3. Chapter 3

So, I was going through my livejournal and I came across this little bit of Neji/Sakura and I was like... I can't remember if I posted this as a chapter. Turns out, I never did. Fortunately, I think it's decent enough to be given a chance. Well, here we go, boys and girls.

He had blown it. She was happy with him and then... He couldn't bring himself to think about what had happened. It all seemed so trivial now. His bloodline was not all seeing as it was bragged to do. Sure they could see through anything, See everything. But the future was not theirs to see. Clearly he himself was blind to others' emotions. So why...

Pride was his only answer. Because his pride was on the line and he didn't want to jeopardize that. And now he was paying. Dearly.

Her green eyes, full and flooding over. It wrenched at his own heart, something he had thought he had locked away. Clearly it wasn't made of stone as everyone assumed it would be. He remembered them clear as day as he sat outside her door. Rain poured around him. He had to recognize the irony. It was raining the first day she had caught his interest. So trivial. Or so it seemed. Now he only wanted to go in and ... What would he do? Would she listen if he tried to speak See him if he tried to show himself? Care if he went out of his way to...do anything for her. It would be for her. Only her. It was only ever her. And now, there wasn't much he could do. Going from limitlessness to near nothing was hard on a person and it hurt. Should he try later?

His thoughts became foggy after that. Panic and regret and their friend adrenaline take a good toll on a person.

How cold can one person be? She wiped angry and heart broken tears from her eyes as she ran around her room like a twisted tornado, throwing anything that reminded her of the Hyuuga boy in a box to be burned. Or smashed. Or drowned. Or... something. She stopped, her arm arched back to throw one more thing in when her anger subsided and little sobs threatened to choke the will right out of her. How he could tell her he couldn't give less of a damn... It hurt. Especially after all of this. The pictures and the stupid ticket stubs and ... She fell to her knees. It was all she could do. Silent sobs wracked her. One thought repeating like a broken record in her mind.

How?

It wasn't until a few hours and a good, warm shower later that she had found him asleep against her door. Her jade eyes curious, though mildly angry. What was he doing here? Should she wake him? For now she stared at him, watching with a mixture of feelings swirling on her face. Slowly he began to stir and those gray eyes of his opened.

What happened? And where was this? He vaguely caught someone's leg out of the corner of his eye and he turned to look.

She stood over him, watching him as he stared back. What played on his face to make her reaction look so shocked? He barely felt something trek down his face; she dropped to her knees as her arms snapped around him, her fingers entangling into his hair. She needed this. She just needed someone to know; someone to give a damn and focus on now that the one person she had loved was with another.

And he relaxed, his arms gliding to rest around her. They sat like that, nearly intertwined for a while before deciding they probably should go in to avoid odd questioning and conflicting stares. However, while both thought the other wanted to explain what happened; words proved unnecessary things.


End file.
